How can frequent urination be dealt with?

Q:My 64 years old father has a problem of frequent urination. We carried out tests related to the prostate like blood test, urine test, sonography but no abnormality was found. The doctor told us that one of the lobes of the prostate was larger than the other. Please guide us regarding the further course of action. He has no other complaint except frequent urination and inability to control the urine.

A:The frequency of urination would depend upon the volume of urine being formed and the bladder capacity. One would go to pass urine more frequently if the urine volume being formed is more, or the bladder capacity gets smaller. The usual causes of increased urine formation are increase in water intake, diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, interstitial kidney diseases and medications like diuretics. Small bladder capacity could be temporary, as with increased sensitivity with urinary infections, or anxiety. Permanent reduced bladder capacity may occur with various diseases of the bladder. You may thus realize that increased urinary frequency is a symptom and not a disease, and has varied etiology (causes), which your doctor would have to work at before reaching the cause and treating it accordingly.